The 72-year-old Brunswick widow, who was born in a Manhattan hospital and spent her childhood years with her parents in Jamaica, Queens, has been trying for close to five months, and the delay already has cost her an opportunity to join a friend on a spring Caribbean cruise.

"I'm just going around in circles," she told me Monday. "I am at my wits' end."

In the past, Crump, whose maiden name was "Cross," relied on a decades-old copy of her original 1938 birth certificate whenever proof of her birth date or location was required.

"This is what my mother gave me when I got married. That was 52 years ago," she said.

But Troy postal employees said her old document wouldn't do for a passport application these days. It lacks the "raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal" required to prove authenticity.

And then Crump realized there was another issue that could snag her passport application.

Photo: Paul Buckowski

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Kathleen Crump poses in her Troy home on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, with some of the paperwork from her dealings with the New York City Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. Crump who is trying to get a passport has run into problems trying to get a version of her birth certificate with the raised seal on it. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

Kathleen Crump poses in her Troy home on Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010, with some of the paperwork from her dealings with the New York City Department of Health, Office of Vital Records. Crump who is trying to get a ... more

Photo: Paul Buckowski

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A photograph of Kathleen Crump for use in her passport she hopes to get, is seen along with a photocopy of a canceled check for the $55.00 she paid to the New York City Department of Health, Office of Vital Records to get her birth certificate with a raised seal, which she needs to get a passport. Crump started all of this in March and her check was cashed in early June, but still she has not received her birth certificate and is running into problems getting it. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

A photograph of Kathleen Crump for use in her passport she hopes to get, is seen along with a photocopy of a canceled check for the $55.00 she paid to the New York City Department of Health, Office of Vital ... more

Photo: Paul Buckowski

Stalled birth certificate gets push

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Whoever filled out her birth certificate 72 years ago wrote her name in neat cursive script as "Cathleen Cross." But for all of her life, Crump and her parents spelled her first name with a "K." Every identification record, aside from her birth certificate, calls her Kathleen.

She never considered the discrepancy a big deal, but with post-9/11 passport and security policies in place, Crump suspected it could raise red flags for authorities reviewing her passport application.

Speaking as a Catherine who often has been inadvertently misidentified as Katherine, Kathryn or Kathleen -- and who nearly wound up with invalid European rail tickets two years ago because of such a mix-up -- I applaud Crump for her foresight on this potential problem.

When Crump first requested the certified and corrected birth certificate, she was impressed with how smoothly things went. She quickly was issued a tracking number from the New York City Office of Vital Statistics and received an application in the mail. She sent back the form and requested documents, as well as a $55 check dated April 23.

Then, nothing.

She's been calling and writing ever since, trying to determine what the holdup is and whether she needs to do something more.

Records from her bank show the city deposited her check on June 10, but she has not received any confirmation that the certificate is on its way.

Early on, she was told "someone will get back to you." When she asked when that would be, she said, the response was "I wouldn't know."

Crump has sent three letters by postal mail and tried repeatedly to speak with the proper authorities by telephone.

Last week, she spoke with a city worker who had such a heavy accent that she couldn't clearly understand what he was saying.

He seemed to be asserting that she was not born in New York City. Then, when she asked to be transferred to the office where he said her application should be handled, he declined.

"I know how swamped we used to be," she told me. "If I could just talk to somebody and they could let me know what I'm doing wrong ..."

I contacted press aides in the city Health Department and am pleased to report that Crump's certificate now seems to be on the way.

"The Health Department followed up on this and the issue has been resolved. The birth certificate will be mailed as soon as it is printed this week," a spokeswoman said in an e-mail response to my inquiry.

She declined to say what caused the delay.

Crump also received a call Wednesday from the assistant director of the vital records corrections office, who was handling the matter personally and assured her that the certified, corrected certificate soon would be in the mail.

"Holy mackerel," Crump exclaimed when she told me. "I'm so happy. I'm sailing on a cloud."

The Advocate can be reached at 454-5700 or advocate@timesunion.com. The Advocate appears in print Thursdays and Sundays, and online at http://timesunion.com/advocate.